One of the most telling testimonies presented be fore the
Tribunal was that of an expert witness on
the recorded words of a police officer on Star News on March 9: "Wahan
factory mein aag lagi hai, GIDC mein… haan…aag lagi hai… factory Hindu-Muslim
mix thi, is mein ek partner Muslim tha, baki ke sab partner Hindu the."("In GIDC a factory is on fire… yes… it is on fire… the factory was
jointly owned… one partner was a Muslim and the rest were Hindus.")

Extensive evidence recorded by the Tribunal points to the
devastating loss of property by the Muslim community in the state. Relying on
detailed tabulation of losses computed by community leaders at the village,
city and district levels, independent groups estimated the total loss to the
Muslim community at not less than Rs. 3,800 crore. (Except where otherwise
stated, the figures for losses given below have been computed by business
representatives of the community and social activists).The
pre-planning, precision and scale of destruction calls for massive reparation
by the Gujarat state.

The Muslim community in Gujarat was one of the most prosperous
in the country and its contribution to the economy of the state, pivotal. The
fact that the economy of this section of the population has been crippled
suggests a sinister motive behind the destruction.

Evidence provided by prominent businessmen belonging to both
the Muslim and Hindu communities point to the systematic destruction. The
destruction of two establishments on CG Road — Pantaloon Showroom and the Hero
Honda Showroom — in a posh area in Ahmedabad, is illuminating. The Pantaloon
Showroom is a partnership of Hindus and Muslims, with the Muslim partner
owning only a 10 per cent share. The Copper Chimney restaurant, though owned
by a Hindu Punjabi, was targeted. Those instigating the attack were obviously
well-informed, for very few people knew that the owner had recently signed a
deal with a Sheikh in the Gulf.

Information was gathered from the Registrar of Companies, the
Revenue and the Sales Tax departments. Significantly, several months prior to
the carnage, the widely circulated local Gujarati daily, Sandesh, had
published a list of all Muslim-owned establishments in Ahmedabad with ‘Hindu’
names. Was there some unstated purpose behind the publishing of this list? Was
it used as a ready reckoner by those who destroyed these establishments later?

According to Shri Narendra Brahmbutt, president of the
Ahmedabad Hotel and Residents Association, the hotel sector alone has suffered
a staggering loss of Rs. 260 crore. Suppliers to the hotel industry suffered
losses to the extent of Rs. 60 crore. As many as 6,700 workers belonging to
the majority community have been rendered jobless due to the burning and arson
by the fanatic militia.

Details of losses

Muslims estimate losses due to the prolonged closure of shops,
industries and commercial establishments in the state to be no less at Rs.
3,000 crore. (The Gujarat Chambers of Commerce and Industry puts the figure at
Rs. 2,000 crore).

Hotel Industry

Approximately 1,150 hotels were burnt or looted on the
National Highway from Vapi to Vadodara and on to Palanpur. The total estimated
loss to property and investment in looting and damage alone, across the state,
is Rs. 760 crore.

Ø

A Rs. 600 crore business
loss for the hotel industry in Gujarat.

Ø At least 20,000
workers in the hotel industry were rendered jobless and many are missing.
Ironically, many of those who lost their jobs were non-Muslims, indicative of
the long–term impact of destruction and terror on all sections of society, not
just the 10 per cent strong Muslim minority that is the immediate target.
Nearly 7,000–8,000 Rabari boys were rendered jobless in Gujarat because Muslim
hotels were burnt and destroyed, according to the evidence of Tejabhai, a
Rabari leader recorded by an expert witness.

Transport industry

The transport godowns on the National Highway have suffered
damages to the tune of Rs. 12 crore. In addition, losses suffered due to the
burning down of over 1,000 trucks are estimated by transport operators
belonging to Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara Godhra and Himmatnagar, at Rs. 60
crore. The truck operators’ insurance claims for the cumulative damage
amounted to Rs. 830 crore.

Ø More than Rs. 10
crore lost due to the burning down of 60 Opel Astras parked outside the GM
Motors unit at Halol.

Ø Rs. 4 crore lost due
to the torching of the Honda City and Accord fleet of cars at the Landmark
Honda showroom at Thaltej, Gandhinagar.

Ø The Gujarat State
Road Transport Corporation estimated a loss of Rs. 12.50 crore and transport
companies have lost business amounting to Rs. 70 crore.

Ø Borewells in the
fields, which cost anywhere from Rs. 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh, were damaged
beyond repair. At least 7,000 such borewells of Muslim agriculturists from all
over Gujarat were destroyed.

Ø Large and small
agricultural landholdings of Muslims in Gujarat where economic and social
boycott still continues have been taken over by powerful interests dominated
by the BJP/RSS/VHP and BD.

Miscellaneous

Ø More than Rs. 2 crore
lost in damage to the Lucky Film Studio.

Ø Hundreds of crores
lost due to the arson of thousands of houses and buildings. At least 75,000
homes were seriously damaged in the destruction, of which 10, 204 were burnt
down completely. At least 10,000 shops were targeted, of which over 2,100 were
completely ransacked.

Ø A Handloom Expo was
on in Ahmedabad when the Godhra tragedy took place. All the Muslim artisans
from Kashmir and West Bengal were attacked and their displays destroyed.

It is abundantly clear that the economic destruction took
place mainly because of inaction on the part of the state government. Hence,
the responsibility for rehabilitation need lie squarely with it. But the
government has not even assessed the damages, nor laid down any guidelines for
payment of compensation. Unfortunately, even the insurance companies, such as
the New India Insurance and others, have not even considered the legitimate
insurance claims of businessmen in many areas.

While ignoring the genuine and pressing relief and
rehabilitation needs of the survivors, the sponsors of the carnage and their
cadre have now resorted to a crippling economic boycott against Muslims in
many parts of Gujarat. In Gandhi-nagar, Mehsana and Sabarkantha districts,
truck and auto drivers are facing a severe economic boycott thanks to the
machinations of politicians like Gujarat ministers, Shri Nitin Patel and Shri
Narayan Lalludas Patel.

In Vadodara, there have been, at least, over two dozen
instances of Muslims being told by their Hindu employers not to come to work.
In Por and Paliyad villages in Gandhinagar district, villagers who had
returned were facing the severe impact of hunger and loss of livelihood due to
the refusal by village Patels (who dominate the panchayat and who are
politically associated with the BJP) to buy milk (from milch cattle) or to
hire Muslim women as farm labour on the land belonging to the majority
community.

Though overt violence has ended, ethnic cleansing continues in
the form of the economic decimation of the minority in Gujarat.

The Tribunal is particularly disturbed by the fact that it is
not just the ordinary worker of the Sangh Parivar, even ministers and
other Hindutva leaders are involved in instigating the economic boycott
of Muslims from behind the scenes. Home minister Shri Gordhan Zadaphiya and
revenue minister Shri Haren Pandya, ministers Shri Narayan Lalludas Patel,
Shri Niteen Patel, forest minister Shri Prabhatsinh Chauhan, minister for
cottage industries, Shri Ranjitsinh Chawda, BJP MLAs Sushri Amita Patel and
Sushri Maya Kotdani and Dr. Jaideep Patel (Gujarat VHP’s vice–president),
among many others, have been named by the eyewitnesses, in this context.